What is the Supremacy Clause?
- Section 52.1 of the Constitution Act, 1982 states that any law, bill, or state action that violates the Charter has no force or effect.
- When a law or action is said to have no force or effect, a remedy must be applied. Remedies are found under Section 24 - Enforcement.
- Ultimately, the Supremacy Clause states that the Charter is the “Supreme Law of the Land”.
- It imposes an obligation on government to create laws consistent with the charter and to invalidate a law to the extent of its inconsistency with the charter.
What is a Landmark Case?
- When a bill is brought to law, it must go through a process to determine if it may violate the Charter. The report is called a Charter Statement.
- Brought into effect by the Department of Justice Act, 2019
- This creates awareness about potential charter violations.
- In the past, this was not always done. Landmark cases were cases that create an initial and lasting precedent related to a specific area of charter law.
- These cases created an impact on Canadian society and helped to build the legal framework for analyzing Charter claims.
Some Landmark Cases
R. v. Morgentaler
Doctor who fought against Murder charges for giving abortions. Impacted Section 7.
Sue Rodriguez
BC Woman with ALS who wanted doctor assisted suicide legalized. Impacted Section 7, 12, 15.
R. v. Sauve
Prisoner of life sentence who argued for the right to vote. Impacted Section 3.
R. v. Askov
Accused waited almost 2 years to bring charges to trial. Impacted Section 11b.